A rotary atomizer includes a rotating bell which is coupled to a rotating shaft of an air motor and has a plurality of orifices and a paint passage for supplying paint from a paint source to the orifices of the rotating bell, thus dispensing the paint through the orifices toward an object to be painted. In a painting operation, when the rotating shaft of the air motor and the rotating bell are rotated, the paint discharged through the orifices flows radially outwardly along a distal end face of the rotating bell, due to the centrifugal force, toward the peripheral edge of the rotating bell, then the paint is sprayed when separating from the peripheral edge of the rotating bell.